Thomas Masterman Hardy

Thomas Masterman Hardy (5 April 1769-20 September 1839) was an Admiral of Great Britain's Royal Navy.

Biography
Hardy joined the navy aboard HMS Helena on 30 November 1781 but attended Crewkerne Grammar School in 1782. In 1790 he became a Midshipman and a Secont Lieutenant in 1793. In the French Revolutionary Wars he fought in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, the Battle of the Nile, and Bombardment of Copenhagen, and was present in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. During the battle Admiral Horatio Nelson died, and Hardy helped to carry him below deck. Hardy became the commander and was made a Baron in 1806. In 1814, during the War of 1812, he bombarded the American town of Stonington in Connecticut but the townspeople returned fire and killed 21 of the British sailors, and Hardy was forced to retreat. In 1825 he was made a Rear Admiral and a Vice Admiral in 1837, and died two years later.